The best $200 your church will ever spend
I normally try to fill these articles with helpful information
about how to teach and grow a class. This week, I'd like to invite
you to consider that subscribing all your teachers to the Lesson
Vault is the best $200 you will spend toward that goal.
When you consider the amount of money your church spends on
literature and other resources for you Sunday School, I know of no
better place you could spend $200 than on the Lesson Vault. The
Lesson Vault is your access to hundreds of online lessons. Three new
lessons are added per week that correspond with three of Lifeway's
outlines. I call theses lessons Good Questions and they have groups
talking. If I were a Minister of Ed today, I would do what I did
when I was on staff: I had these lessons printed every week and
delivered to my teachers. The Sunday School tripled in ten years.
Here are six benefits of getting an annual, church-wide subscription
to The Lesson Vault.
The Lesson Vault will significantly improve the quality of the
teaching of your classes.
I have watched--right before my eyes--these lessons dramatically
improve the quality of the class time in groups. Lecture groups turn
to discussion groups. Top-down monologue turns into lively, on-task
conversations. Group time dramatically improves.
What would you pay for that?
The Lesson Vault will save your teachers time.
Each lesson consists of 25 or so ready-to-use questions. These
are not lessons like you are used to seeing. They get groups
talking. Whatever background study you add to the preparation, is
going to help you be an even better teacher, but the truth is, these
lessons are ready-to-teach, right out of the box. They correspond to
three of Lifeway's curriculum outlines and there is a back list of
close to 2000 lessons on every topic and text imaginable.
What would would you pay for that?
Your teachers will have more time to spend on ministry
Who is the best Sunday School teacher you ever had? My wife asks
this question regularly in her seminars and has discovered something
puzzling. The best Sunday School teacher is usually not the best
Sunday School teacher. They are not the best teacher; they are the
most loving. They spend the most time and attention on the students.
Less time in preparation means more time available in ministry--more
time calling and keeping up with class members, while still
maintaining a high-quality class time experience.
What would you pay for that?
It will be easier to recruit teachers
Do you struggle to get enough teachers? Every church does. Big
churches and small churches struggle to get enough teachers. The
Lesson Vault makes it easier.
It is easier to recruit because it is easier to teach a great
lesson. People want to be successful and they hate to fail. If they
know they can teach a good lesson, they are more likely to volunteer
to teach. I have seen this in action when I was a Minister of
Education. I would talk to students that sat in classes that used
Good Questions. There response would be, "All I have to do is go
over those questions, right?" I would explain that it would be best
if they did some background reading, but yes, in class what they
basically needed to do was go over the provided questions.
Recruiting suddenly became easier.
What would you pay for that?
The Lesson Vault makes it easier to divide classes
How do you grow a Sunday School? By creating new classes. What is
the hardest part about creating new classes? Getting teachers. If we
can make it easier to get teachers, it is also easier to start new
classes.
What would you pay for that?
The Lesson Vault is really great when you need a last-minute sub
Things happen in church. People drop the ball. They get sick.
They forget. They get called into work at the last minute. When that
happens, you are going to be really glad you signed up for the
Lesson Vault. You will hand a copy of this week's Good Questions to
a sub and send them down the hall with the confidence that that
class will still be above the bar of half-way decent teaching. I
have watched it happen right before my eyes.
What would you pay for that?
Conclusion
There is always a tendency to believe that if something is more
work, it is better quality. Technology has proved over and again
that is not necessarily true. Typing on a old typewriter is more
work; Typing on a word processor is better.
There is an old mission story that illustrates this. There was a
missionary that was working with a remote people group deep in the
Amazon jungle. He spent three days rowing in on canoe and three days
getting out. Every furlough he would show his slides of himself and
the canoe. People were very impressed.
Mission Aviation Fellowship came along and said, "We will get you
in there in three hours, not three days." He refused, saying, "This
is what I am called to do."
What are you called to do? Row a canoe? Or preach the gospel?
What are you called to do? Spend lots of time in difficult
preparation? Or make disciples through life-changing conversations?
Difficult is not always better.
If we are going to join God in a world-changing doubling group
movement, we are going to have to provide consistent, high-quality
group experiences. Good questions get that done. We are going to ask
our teachers to spend lots of time not only in preparation, but in
ministry to the class. Good questions help us do that. We are going
to have to recruit lots of teachers. Good questions help us do that.
We are going to have to start lots of new groups. Good questions
help us do that. We are going to need last-minute substitutes. Good
questions will insure that even in this situation, the teaching will
be quality.
To sign up your teachers go to
www.joshhunt.com/vault.htm You can sign up with or without
PayPal. (With PayPal is quicker and renewal is automatic.) Plans are
available for churches as well as individuals, for one month at a
time, or a year at a time. You can cancel any time.
Bonus: Place a NEW ALL-CHURCH ANNUAL
subscription to The Lesson Vault before Feb. 22, 2008 and receive
Saturday Morning Training DVD Volume #1 Reproducible FREE. (A $69
Value) This video teaches the basics of how to use hospitality to
double your group and is available FREE in a reproducible format for
all new annual church subscribers. See
http://146.82.67.88/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=YCD&Product_Code=SAT-1-REPRODUCIBLE&Category_Code=SAT
Guarantee: if you are not completely satisfied,
contact us and we will gladly and promptly refund your money.
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